SEVERAL BASES FOR STRENGTHENING THE LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM IN PRIMARY GRADES WERE CONSIDERED. FROM RECENT STUDIES THAT HAVE RECORDED AND ANALYZED ACTUAL SPEECH SAMPLES OF PRESCHOOL AND SCHOOL CHILDREN, THREE ASSUMPTIONS CONCERNING CHILDREN'S LANGUAGE WERE MADE. FIRST, BY THE AGE OF THREE, MOST CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED THE BASIC STRUCTURE OF THE LANGUAGE. WHILE THEY MAY OMIT LESS ESSENTIAL WORDS, THEY USUALLY INCLUDE KEY TERMS IN THEIR STATEMENTS. SECOND, BY THE TIME THEY COME TO SCHOOL, MOST CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED TO USE MOST OF THE STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS OF THE LANGUAGE AND ARE BEGINNING TO TALK IN COMPLEX SENTENCES. THIRD, EVEN CHILDREN FROM POOR BACKGROUNDS ARE NOT AS NONVERBAL AS ONCE WAS THOUGHT. THEY DIFFER IN COMPLEXITY OF LANGUAGE BUT ARE NOT "LANGUAGELESS." IN ORDER TO PROVIDE A STRONGER PROGRAM OF ORAL LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT, THREE SUGGESTIONS WERE PROPOSED. ONE SUGGESTION WAS TO BROADEN THE ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE, TO INCLUDE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR TALKING. A SECOND SUGGESTION WAS TO STIMULATE FULLNESS IN ORAL RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS, TO ENCOURAGE GROWTH OF VERBAL CONTENT. A THRID SUGGESTION WAS TO GUIDE THE THINKING OF CHILDREN TOWARD THE DEVELOPMENT OF FINER SHADES OF MEANING AND GREATER PRECISION IN LANGUAGE USE. A BIBLIOGRAPHY WAS INCLUDED.